Wal-Mart’s $200 PC - sold out ( 10,000 sold...running Linux Ubuntu )

ZDNET ^ | November 13th, 2007 | Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

About two weeks ago, Wal-Mart began selling $200 Linux-based PC.  The initial run was around 10,000 units.  Now Wal-Mart is sold out.  Has Linux now found a niche?

The system sold by Wal-Mart was an Everex’s TC2502 gPC and is the first mass-market $200 desktop PC.  The spec of the system is very low - 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU embedded onto a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?hard drive - but this doesn’t matter because the system does pretty much everything that your average PC users wants.  With the gPC you can surf the web, send and receive email, work with word processor and spreadsheet documents, chat with friends, keep a blog updated, edit photos and pictures, even burn DVDs thanks to the built-in DVD burner.  About the only thing that your average home user won’t be able to do with this PC is play games on it.

One thing that interested me about this PC is that it is shipped in a tower case when the components would fit into a much smaller case.  I wondered why this was the case until I came across a write-up on Wired:

Even at the low end, however, image is everything. The gPC is built using tiny components, but put inside a full-size case because research indicates that Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated they equate physical size with capability.

That “Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated” bit is a tad worrying because I do wonder whether someone who equates case size with capability should be put in charge of a Linux system.  The reviews seem pretty positive though.  Maybe Wired have underestimate the kind of person who shops at Wal-Mart.  Positive reviews far outweigh negative ones.  However, the comment that stood out was this:

when you want to jazz it up, just spend 10 bucks for a new linux distro

Interesting comment, eh?

Now here’s what’s interesting about this PC.  It doesn’t have what it takes to run Windows Vista, but it has more than enough power to do pretty much everything that users want from a PC.  As hardware costs have plummeted, and the power that can be squeezed from components increased, the cost of having Windows installed on such a PC becomes too high a proportion of the cost of components.  For example, if you wanted to load Windows Vista Home Basic onto this system (not that I’d suggest that you tried - the PC just couldn’t cope with Vista), you’re adding between $60 and $90 to the cost of the PC (depending on what the vendor pays for an OEM license, if you do it yourself, expect to pay the higher price in this spectrum).  In fact, Wal-Mart do sell a similar system with Home Basic pre-installed (this system has an extra 512MB of RAM, a SATA 150 drive instead of an ATA 150 hard drive, and comes with a keyboard and mouse) for $298.  Add Microsoft Office to that cost and the price of software doubles the price of the hardware.  By installing Linux and OpenOffice, the total cost of the PC is kept as low as possible.  While the price of hardware has fallen dramatically, the price of Windows hasn’t.  This could be Microsoft’s Achilles’ Heel.  This low price point will appeal to many.

Has Linux finally found a niche in which it can compete against Windows or will the interest in these kinds of systems be limited?  I think that Linux might well have found a good niche.  Sure, these low-end systems will never appeal to those who want power at any cost (and who don’t mind if their systems belch black smoke to achieve that power) but for people looking for a very cheap PC at a rock bottom price (this system is so cheap that I doubt you could build one for as good a price if you added shipping charges for the components into the deal), this must be a pretty irresistible deal.

Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?

Thoughts?

[Gorzaloon]

It's VERY user friendly. Most everything in Ubutu just works.

I have not tried Ununtu yet. How does it compare to Debian? That is the one I have been setting up here. I also have Red Hat and Suse. Did not care for Red Hat, have not gotten around to loading Suse yet. Starting to get too comfy with Debian, I guess.

I started playing with linuxes on an old P3-733 clunker doorstop. Surprise, it was not a clunker any more. I do have a few annoyances with network print sharing, but am pecking away at them.

[djf]

My first machine was a Chameleon.

No hard drive.

Booted off a single sided 160KB 5” floppy.

Booted IBM DOS 1.0
I still have the floppy.
Sure learned alot about the DEBUG command in those days!

BTW, I wouldn’t put VISTA on my toaster. That is not if I ever want/expect toast again!

[silentreignofheroes]

Got a couple battery chargers for cordless tools to repair and I can’t find any 3.6 volt zeners,,my , uh , supply room has gone since I’ve retired..

Plug and Play with no thought just does’nt get it..
Thinking serious about getting into Hamm..Liked working on radios..

If you got time ,,,got a good supply source handy..?Talk to you later cuz,,

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[Publius6961]

CHeap sells. But OTOH it does expose a lot of people to linux.

Inexpensive is not necessarily cheap. This product is way overdue. I have just one word to add:

VHS.

[Big Giant Head]

It's VERY user friendly. Most everything in Ubutu just works.

I have not tried Ununtu yet.

Sigh.... Me neither. The "just works" Ubuntu won't recognize. It won't boot from disk, just skips it and boots windoze. Still working on the "just works."

[Publius6961]

We have to wonder what the magic number will be that prompts some kind of response from Microsoft.

I keep hoping that Microshaft never catches on to the slow death.
Some abusive, predatory business models deserve a slow painful death.

Remember when you used to be able to own and run three computers with a single OS purchase so long as you didn't run them all at the same time? I would love to have a computer just for games (fast and robust video, refresh rates and resolution, not connected to the internet, thus unaffected by viruses), another to surf (and easily rebuilt if it is infected by viruses, trojan horses or whatever)and a third for my serious, reliable, robust and secure pay-the bills use.

I could only use one at a time, but presently must buy three copies of Windows to accomplish it. Once upon a time things made more sense.

[Publius6961]

Soon 9000 knuckle dragging mouth breathing slugs will return their PC’s to Walmart because they “don’t get that linus thang”

That's great!
I was going to build myself a "PC" computer just to learn and use Linux. I can't build one for that price.

I would buy a "working" return in a minute.

I'm sure most normal people realize that there is more than the box involved, namely monitor, keyboard and mouse.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

LOL!

[N3WBI3]

Two reasons

1) Hardware needed for gaming is far more high end than word processors

2) Not allot of great games for Linux

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It’s Ubuntu....and it is mostly using Debian....but it sure is a VERY Different install than Debian...I never really got that one to work...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What’s the motherboard?

Watch out for Motherboard’s with the Nvidia 7150 chipset.......only a few of the Linux Distros seem to work right with that one.

Ubuntu has trouble with it....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And if the chipset is ATI that often gives trouble.....also wide monitors can be trouble....been thru that one....

[Big Giant Head]

I have a Compaq Evo N800v laptop. Intel chipset. The drive has no problems booting from CD if I’m using a Windows OS disk, maybe my disk is at fault.

[FastCoyote]

“I have not tried Ununtu yet. How does it compare to Debian?”

Ubuntu IS a version of Debian, with a bit different upgrade schedule.

[Gorzaloon]

And if the chipset is ATI that often gives trouble.....also wide monitors can be trouble....been thru that one....

*Snort* ATI. Is there any system their stuff will run seamlessly on, and has their ever been? Bitter memories.

[Gorzaloon]

It’s Ubuntu....and it is mostly using Debian....but it sure is a VERY Different install than Debian...I never really got that one to work...

I did all my Debian installs very easily right down the cable. The URL was posted quite some time ago by a Freeper of Blessed Memory.

www.goodbye-microsoft.com

I have it on 3 machines so far.

[isthisnickcool]

I had the latest Sabayon running off the DVD on several machines. Compiz ran on every one of them.

I'm amazed at what can be done with technology compared to just a few short years ago. For example, I have three different connections to FR right now. This post is being done on a vista laptop using IE.

Let'see see how fast I can post to you three times:)

[isthisnickcool]

This reply was from the Vista laptop connected to Windoze 2003 Ent. via RDC to another server.

[isthisnickcool]

This post was done from a gnome desktop behind the firewall at the office. I am connected via an NX client on a Vista laptop (which I did another post with) to a Fedora 7 server at the office so this post is being done from a Firefox browser.